Seawater Beer – It exists, but it really shouldn’t.

I was out with the wife the other night, having a couple of beers at Mr Banks.

Mr Banks is a brewery that do real beer, the stuff that tastes amazing, and brewed using good quality ingredients. Beers like this Red XPA, which was a real treat with its malty aroma and hoppy and equally as malty flavours.

A good example of a beer

But we’re not here to talk about good beer, we’re here to talk about the odd and disturbing experience that is seawater beer. A beer that I unfortunately encountered at a Spanish Bar that my wife and I visited after growing tired of drinking good beer.

I might be ignorant of some important and vital piece of beer brewing information, but why the hell would you want to brew a beer with sea water? Most good brewers take all steps to ensure their water supply is as clean and free of impurities as possible. Clean and purified water that is low in salts ensures that the flavours that the brewer is attempting to bring out in their brews comes through as cleanly and effectively as possible.

Hmmm sea water…

In my mind, adding sea water to your brew sounds like complete insanity. I cannot fathom how sea water would add in a positive way to the flavours of a beer. In the brewers defence, they do filter the water but the question still has to be asked as to why they think sea water is a great addition to a beer. I truly don’t understand how, but apparently this beer has won some awards. So it seems that there are people out there who like this beer and willingly choose to drink it. Even after sampling it for the first time. Insanity, I know.

And there are even people out there who believe this beer is good for them, and that it prevents hangovers. This chap raves about the beer and its supposedly magical properties. He claims that the beer has the following properties:

It’s packed full of electrolytes as a result of being brewed with sea water. Clearly the guy has never heard of sports drinks if electrolytes is what he’s seeking.

It’s great for hydration. No, alcohol is never good for hydration…

It makes him urinate less. Could that possibly be the result of drinking salt water?

It didn’t give him a hangover. Even though he woke up with a hangover.

It’s good to drink after exercise. A theory that was debunked a long time ago.

So I suppose I should tell you what I actually thought about how this beer tasted. It’s probably quite obvious by now that I’m not a fan. But if it isn’t clear, I’m not a fan of this beer.

Oh look, a salty brew

The beer looks great in a glass. It has a lovely misty amber colour and pours with an impressive off white head. But that’s where the praise ends. The aroma is quite literally of a stagnant ocean. On the palate the beer has mild carbonation and a stale bitterness overpowers any normal beer flavours that you might be expecting.

And that’s really all there is to this beer. A beer that looks nice, but smells bad and tastes equally as bad. I dislike this beer so much that I won’t even bother you with the usual beer data. Simply stay away from this terrible idea of a brew. You’re not missing out on anything, I assure you.